August 30th, 2024 

Trying to quell a bipartisan uproar, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that “half-baked” plans to bring golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts to state parks will be revamped.

DeSantis said the Department of Environmental Protection will gather more public input before it could move forward with what is dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative.”

The Great Outdoors Initiative started as an executive order, signed in October 2023 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It contained no mention of development inside Florida’s state parks.

The order aimed to “encourage all Florida residents to participate in outdoor recreation,” and included three directives:

1. The Florida Department of Environmental protection was instructed to temporarily offer annual state park passes for half price. 
2. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was given the ability to temporarily offer some sportsman licenses for half price. 
3. Those temporary discounts were to be offered between Oct. 14, 2023 and Jan. 13, 2024. 

On Aug. 19, 2024 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced its “Great Outdoors Initiative” for the next fiscal year. This time, there was no executive order. However, a press release said the initiative would increase “campsites, cabins and lodges on park property” and “increase the number of outdoor recreation opportunities available at Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddling.”

“WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE AWAY ANY GREEN SPACE”  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday a controversial plan to build three golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park — a proposal that has now been withdrawn — was “intentionally leaked” and was “not approved by me.”

Mortgage Rates 

Continue to Drop

Mortgage rates fell again this week due to expectations of a Fed rate cut. Rates are expected to continue their decline and while potential homebuyers are watching closely, a rebound in purchase activity remains elusive until further declines are seen.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

August 22nd, 2024 

The rate fell to 6.46 percent from 6.49 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.23 percent. Five years ago, it was 3.55 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.

The average rate is now the lowest it’s been since mid-May last year, when Mortgage rates are expected to continue trending lower overall this year, as signs of waning inflation and a cooling job market have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate at its policy meeting next month, which would be the first such easing in four years.

Associated Press

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

August 13th, 2024 

You’ve probably seen the headlines or heard the news. The National Association of Realtors has been found liable in a lawsuit over Real Estate commissions. Here’s my take on what happened and how we move forward.

Watch the Youtube Video

Read the transcript

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

August 8th, 2024 

A possible sign of recovery for the state’s beleaguered insurance industry, as more private companies are offering to take over policies from Citizens— the state’s insurer of last resort.

• Manatee Insurance Exchange: 78,000
• Slide: 75,000
• American Integrity: 65,880
• Southern Oak: 50,000
• Orion180 Select: 26,128
• Florida Peninsula: 35,000
• Monarch National: 30,000
• Homeowners Choice: 25,000
• TypTap: 25,000

According to Citizens and The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), Commissioner Michael Yaworksy recently approved the following 9 companies to take over more than 400,000 Citizens’ policies. Currently Citizens has just over 2.3 million policies in force. 

Citizens will let you know that a private company wants to take over your policy. If that private company’s premium is within 20% of your Citizens premium, you would no longer be eligible for Citizens.

You don’t necessarily have to go with that private company, but you’d no longer be able to get coverage through Citizens.

All the private companies that take over Citizens’ policies must be financially fit and approved by OIR.

The companies were approved to take over, or assume, Citizens’ policies in late October.

Mortgage Rates 

Dip to Lowest

Level Since January

Mortgage rates declined to their lowest level since early February. Expectations of a Fed rate cut coupled with signs of cooling inflation bode well for the market, but apprehension in consumer confidence may prevent an immediate uptick as affordability challenges remain top of mind. Despite this, a recent moderation in home price growth and increases in housing inventory are a welcoming sign for potential homebuyers.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

August 2, 2024 

There is growing weakness in some pockets of the Southwest and Southeast, particularly in Gulf markets and Florida.  Time spent on the market is defined as the time between the initial listing of a property and either its closing date or the date it is taken off the market. Regionally, there is much greater weakness around the Gulf, including much of Florida, while many markets in the Midwest, Northeast, and SoCal still have much fewer days on market.

Median days on market 

by metro area

Active housing inventory 

or sale compared to 

pre-pandemic levels

When assessing home price momentum, it’s important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate potential future pricing weakness. Many parts of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa and New Orleans, and the Mountain West have ticked back above pre-pandemic inventory levels.

Mortgage Rates 

Dip to Lowest Levei

Since February

Mortgage rates declined to their lowest level since early February. Expectations of a Fed rate cut coupled with signs of cooling inflation bode well for the market, but apprehension in consumer confidence may prevent an immediate uptick as affordability challenges remain top of mind. Despite this, a recent moderation in home price growth and increases in housing inventory are a welcoming sign for potential homebuyers.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

July 26th, 2024 

The biggest inventory increase in the state is concentrated in markets like Cape Coral and Fort Myers, which were hard-hit by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. In addition, the state’s coastal condo market is dealing with the aftereffect of regulation passed following the Surfside condo collapse in 2021. Spiked home prices, spiked mortgage rates, higher insurance premiums, and higher HOAs are all contributing to the increase in inventory 

Mortgage Rates 

Show Little

Movement

Mortgage rates increased this week, coming in just under seven percent. Both new home and pending home sales are down, causing active listings to rise. We are still expecting rates to moderately decrease in the second half of the year and given additional inventory, price growth should temper, boding well for interested homebuyers.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

July 18th, 2024 

Typically there is a seasonal drop in September and November in a non election year of -9.8%. In an election year it’s  –15%. People generally have a wait and see attitude. So it generally delays sales rather than eliminate them.

Source: HUD NAR BTIG

Note: The number of homes sold in 2023 was 4.09 million. That is less than the number of homes sold in the financial crisis in 2008.  NAR predicts the number of homes sold in 2024 will be 4.7 million.

2008 was the only year prices dropped after the election.

Financial experts expect a quarter point drop in the Fed Funds rate by the end of this year. This could bring some relief on mortgage rates.

OPEN HOUSE

Friday July 21st 

1:00 to 4:00

Sea Breeze

Gulf Front Condo

13500 Gulf Blvd #208

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

Lucrative Vacation Rental

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Corner Unit

$975,000

Watch Video

Mortgage Rates

Continue to Fall

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to its lowest level since mid-March, dropping 12 basis points from last week. Mortgage rates are headed in the right direction and the economy remains resilient, two positive incremental signs for the housing market. However, homebuyers have yet to respond to lower rates, as purchase application demand is still roughly 5 percent below Spring, when rates were approximately the same. This is not uncommon: sometimes as rates decline, demand weakens, and the apparent paradox is driven by buyers making sure rates don’t decline further before they decide to purchase.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

July 11th, 2024 

The four most populous metro areas in Florida are seeing rent prices declines. In Tampa, the median asking rent slipped 6%, which is also the largest decline in the area on record, according to Redfin.

Reinsurance Picture 

Improves for Florida

Property insurers have seen improvements in the market for reinsurance — critical backup coverage that helps drive how much homeowners pay in premiums.

New reports by the reinsurance brokers Aon and Gallagher Re said Florida property insurers found better prices and more availability when purchasing reinsurance coverage that took effect June 1^st.. Property insurers buy reinsurance and a type of financial instrument known as catastrophe bonds to hedge against risks. Being able to offload a portion of risk is vital for insurers when big storms hit.

Source: Florida Trend

https://www.floridatrend.com/realestate

OPEN HOUSE

Friday July 12th 

1:00 to 4:00

Sea Breeze

Gulf Front Condo

13500 Gulf Blvd #208

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

Lucrative Vacation Rental

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Corner Unit

$975,000

Watch Video

Mortgage Rates 

Tick Down

Following June’s jobs report, which showed a cooling labor market, the 10-year Treasury yield decreased this week and mortgage rates followed suit. There is also more inventory on the market, including a fair number of listings with price cuts, which is an encouraging sign for prospective buyers.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

July 5th, 2024 

The U.S. Census Bureau says Florida’s population grew by 1.6% from 2022 to 2023. That’s the second highest rate among all states. About 1,000 people moved to Florida each day, totaling 365,205 new residents.

The study of high-wage earners looked at two groups: young professionals aged 26-34 and those in their prime working years aged 35-54. High-wage earners made over $200,000.

From 2021 to 2022, Florida saw a net gain of over 1,700 young professionals earning over $200,000, the highest in the nation. Texas and Colorado followed. Among those aged 35-54, Florida had a net gain of over 10,600 high-wage earners, based on Census data.

Mortgage Rates 

Increase

Mortgage rates increased this week, coming in just under seven percent. Both new home and pending home sales are down, causing active listings to rise. We are still expecting rates to moderately decrease in the second half of the year and given additional inventory, price growth should temper, boding well for interested homebuyers.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.

June 22nd, 2024 

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill intended to give more rights to condo owners, in the latest attempt to reform laws governing Florida’s often troubled community associations.

The new law, dubbed “Condo 3.0,” imposes education requirements on board members, requires more condo communities to set up web pages for members, makes it harder for boards to stifle dissent, and gives the state more power to investigate abuses.

Here are highlights of the new law:

— New board members must undergo four hours of education on how to run a condo association, a measure that would make them less vulnerable to manipulation by outside vendors, attorneys or their own residents.

— Condos with 25 units or more must set up web pages that include documents such as bylaws, budgets and lists of contracts with vendors. The requirement previously applied only to condos with at least 150 units. The law requires boards to meet four times a year, up from the current two.

— Boards are barred from retaliating against dissenters through the filing of defamation lawsuits. The use of defamation suits to silence dissent was highlighted in a South Florida Sun Sentinel series last year on condo and HOA abuses.

— The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation will get more authority to investigate wrongdoing by condo boards and will receive funding to hire additional staff.

Mortgage Rates 

Move Lower

Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Fed rate cut. These lower mortgage rates coupled with the gradually improving housing supply bodes well for the housing market. Aspiring homeowners should remember it’s important to shop around for the best mortgage rate as they can vary widely between lenders.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

© 2023 Doiron Realty, Inc.